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See You In September by Charity Norman

Cassy smiled, blew them a kiss.
‘See you in September,’ she said.
It was a throwaway line. Just words uttered casually by a young woman in a hurry. And then she’d gone.

It was supposed to be a short trip – a break in New Zealand before her best friend’s wedding. But when Cassy waved goodbye to her parents, they never dreamed that it would be years before they’d see her again.

Having broken up with her boyfriend, Cassy accepts an invitation to stay in an idyllic farming collective. Overcome by the peace and beauty of the valley and swept up in the charisma of Justin, the community’s leader, Cassy becomes convinced that she has to stay.

As Cassy becomes more and more entrenched in the group’s rituals and beliefs, her frantic parents fight to bring her home – before Justin’s prophesied Last Day can come to pass.

A powerful story of family, faith and finding yourself, See You in September is an unputdownable new novel from this hugely compelling author.

My Review

The subject of this book intrigued me. Cults are things you watch documentaries about. I’ve always wondered what sort of people are drawn into cults, how do they not realise how controlling and manipulative these groups are?

See you in September captivated me, I adore books which draw you in and leave you wanting more.

Cassy is travelling around New Zealand with her boyfriend Hamish, not long after landing she discovers she’s pregnant, this doesn’t fit in with Hamish’s plans at all. Hamish suggests Cassy has an abortion, this brings the relationship to an abrupt end! Cassy hitch hikes and is picked up by a mini bus full of the nicest people she’s ever met….or so she thinks.

The story’s beginning lulls you into a false sense of security, to the point where I checked the blurb to see if I had read it right. Gethsemane, the island where the people are from is idyllic, away from the stresses of modern day life, no mobile phones, self sufficiency, the people are kind and caring. The ‘leader’, Justin is hero worshipped but appears enigmatic and charming.

Then alarm bells begin to ring, they persuade Cassy to transfer all of her savings to the Gethesmane community, Justin believes he is God the community believe that Justin is God, sleep is limited, every one who joins the community is given a new name. All contact with family is severed. They brain wash Cassy into believing her Father abused her as a child, and it gets worse. Slowly more and more secrets unfold and you see the whole picture. I must admit at times I wanted to jump into the book and shake Cassy, make her wake up and smell the coffee!

The book is written between Cassy’s story or Cairo as she is newly known and her Mother, Diana’s story. You see both sides of the story from the way the cult brainwash Cassy to how her family slowly fall apart.

This is a definite 5* review from me.

I’ve found, to my joy that Charity has also released as an ebook Best Served Cold- An original short story featuring characters from See You in September. Guess whats at the top of my TBR list!!

About the Author

Charity Norman was born in Uganda and brought up in successive draughty vicarages in Yorkshire and Birmingham. After several years’ travel she became a barrister, specialising in crime and family law. In 2002, realising that her three children had barely met her, she took a break from the law and moved with her family to New Zealand. See You in September is Charity’s fifth novel. Find Charity on Facebook at facebook.com/charitynormanauthor and on Twitter

I’ve really enjoyed a couple of Charity Norman’s previous books but didn’t realise she had a new one coming out. Your lovely review of this book has sold me on it and I’m going to add it to my buy list right away 🙂